


Shear Madness

by DawnieWrites



Series: What Doesn't Kill You [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 01:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15523380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnieWrites/pseuds/DawnieWrites
Summary: There are tears gathering in her eyes and she knows she doesn’t have the energy to fight them off. Marinette gathers her bag to her chest and sprints for the front of the school. All she can think about is how pathetic she feels as the tears begin to flow freely.'Hello Seamstress. I am Hawkmoth...'





	Shear Madness

**Author's Note:**

> So this was written to serve as a sort of a prequel to What Doesn’t Kill You (Might Change Your Life). Once I came up with the idea of Marinette being akumatized as the trigger to the events in that story, I felt a need to write the actual akumatization. I was having a really hard time figuring out what she’d be like as an akuma though, until I happened upon this wonderful little comic (https://papayapart.tumblr.com/post/163881322814/heres-a-leftover-comicwhich-was-just-half) by @papayapart on Tumblr. Seriously. Check her out.
> 
> As usual, much thanks to my partner musicalradiance (schnappsandrhubarbpie on Tumblr) , without whom this series and story never would have gotten posted, let alone finished.
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Marinette?” Tikki floats down to gently land on Marinette’s pillow, pressing against the top of Marinette’s head. Marinette ignores her kwami, curling tighter around her pillow and clenching her fist tighter around the letter she had received in the mail. “Marinette, it’s time for school.”

"I’m not going,” she mumbles, voice muffled by her pillow and nearly unintelligible.

"Marinette, you have to go. You have that project due  _ and _ the student council meeting at lunch.” Tikki reminds her. Marinette flops over onto her back, still not releasing her pillow. Tikki lifts herself into the air a bit before floating down to rest on Marinette’s forehead, running one hand across it in a comforting gesture. “Come on, Marinette, it’s not the end of the world. You know there will always be other opportunities.” Marinette sighs, pulling her pillow away from her face and wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I know that Tikki,” she answers, “I just...I guess I really thought that this one would really be  _ it _ . You know?”

“You really had your heart set on that program, didn’t you?” Marinette nods.

“I’ve been waiting for years to be old enough to apply and now…”

“Now it feels like all your hard work was for nothing?” Marinette nods again and Tikki nuzzles her cheek. “It’ll all work out. Don’t you worry.” Marinette smiles wetly at her kwami and sits up, holding Tikki close with one hand. She crawls out of bed to get ready for school. She doesn’t realize the letter is still in her hand until she’s sitting in the classroom, and quickly shoves it into her bag as the rest of the class starts taking their seats. She makes it almost the entire day without giving the letter another thought. She’s pretty much forgotten about it until lunchtime.

She’s leaving the student council meeting when - as per usual given her luck and lack of grace outside of the suit - she trips over nothing and goes sprawling across the floor, spilling the contents of her bag across the hall. She sighs in defeat and begins to slowly collect everything. She’s just reaching for the letter when a finely manicured hand beats her to it. She looks up to find Lila Rossi standing over her, olive eyes taking in the words on the page.

“‘Dear Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng’,” she reads off as loudly as she can, catching the attention of every student in the hall, “‘Thank you for submitting your application to our program. At this time, we regret to inform you that you did  _ not qualify for placement _ in the  _ Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale _ ’s summer program for young designers’, oh isn’t that just  _ pathetic _ ,” she croons. “Carrying around a  _ rejection letter _ because you don’t have the sense to give up? Or is it simply because you know it’s the closest thing you’ll ever get to an acceptance letter?” Lila laughs, crumpling the letter up and letting it fall at her feet. The letter rolls to a stop at Marinette’s knees.

There are tears gathering in her eyes and she knows she doesn’t have the energy to fight them off. Everyone is staring at her - Rose, Juleka, Nino, Alya, and everyone else from their year.  _ Everyone knows she’s a failure _ . Marinette reaches for the letter, gathers her bag to her chest and sprints for the front of the school. She doesn’t even register Adrien’s voice calling after her as she rushes past him returning from lunch. All she can think about is how pathetic she feels as the tears begin to flow freely.

Marinette charges down the streets towards home, narrowly missing getting hit by a car, and sprints for the side door leading upstairs to the house. She doesn’t have the energy to face her parents.

“Marinette, you need to calm down,” Tikki attempts to soothe as Marinette climbs the stairs to her room as quickly as she is able. “Marinette? Wait, what are you doing?!” Tikki starts to panic as Marinette drops her bag, pulling her sketches off of the wall and her portfolios from the shelves that house them. Within a moment, there’s a pile of torn sketches and loose fabric swatches on the floor. Marinette turns, reaching for the mannequin covered in her latest project. She starts to rip it apart, ignoring Tikki’s attempts to stop her. She keeps going until something sharp pokes her and she lets out a cry of surprise.

She lifts her right hand up to her face, watching the blood slowly well up where one of the pins securing the fabric to the mannequin had poked her. Her lips quiver and she tastes salt water as she inhales deeply, sinking to her knees on the floor, ruined fabric clutched in her hands.

“Oh Marinette, it’s going to be all right,” Tikki soothes.

“No it - it isn’t,” Marinette sobs. “I- I could deal with - with the rejection, I could Tikki! But - but the whole sc-school? All of- of my f-friends?  _ Knowing  _ I was rejected? I-It’s so  _ humiliating _ ! And I just, I don’t understand. I’ve tried so hard to be nice, and Lila! I,” Marinette takes a deep breath. “I think I hate her, Tikki.”  So caught up in attempting to comfort her holder, the little god doesn’t notice the black and purple butterfly flying into Marinette’s room.

_ Hello, Seamstress,  _ a smooth voice croons in her ear, _ I am Hawkmoth. _

“Hawk...moth?” Marinette repeats quietly, her tears beginning to slow.

“Marinette?” Tikki gasps when she catches sight of the butterfly outline on Marinette’s face, her blue eyes distant and unseeing. “Marinette, don’t listen to him!” Marinette doesn’t seem to be able to hear her. She clutches the fabric tighter as it turns black and engulfs her. When the black bubbles disappear, a different Marinette is standing in her place.

Her costume looks like something straight out of a runway show. A deep red pantsuit with a form fitting bust and loose pants that give her the illusion of wearing a long, flowing skirt. Tiny black polka dots are scattered across her arms and bodice, which gather into a black ‘V’ in the center, opening up into a turtleneck. The sleeves go down to her wrists, forming gloves that leave the tips of her fingers free, perfect for a busy seamstress. Her twin braids are now twin buns at each side of her head, large sewing needles poking through each one like hair sticks, with dark red fabric trailing from the eyes. A black domino mask covers her face. She smiles evilly.

“Let’s see how you enjoy being embarrassed in front of the entire school, Lila.” She practically leaps up the stairs to her bed, disappearing out of the sunroof leading to her balcony. Once she’s out of sight, Tikki emerges from where she had hidden herself.

“This is not good.”

 

~*~

 

Back at school, students were returning to their classes, ready to continue their day. Adrien takes a seat, trying to ignore Lila sitting smugly in the back of the classroom. Alya hasn’t been able to get a hold of Marinette since she ran out of the school in tears. The teacher calls for order, writing out an assignment on the board for homework before starting to call students up to the front to present their latest projects. Lila is first, but as she goes to stand, a horrifying ripping sound fills the room. A moment of silence and then Lila screams, trying to grab her sweater to wrap around her waist. Her sweater won’t budge from where she had set it down on the desk. A chilling laugh fills the room and everyone goes still as an Akuma steps through the open window.

“How does it feel, Lila?” It spits. “That shame and embarrassment. That  _ humiliation _ .” Lila’s face drains of color as the class starts rushing for the door. The akuma starts plucking the polka dots from her dress. As she throws them, Adrien realizes they aren’t polka dots - they’re  _ pins _ , and she’s using them to trap students, pinning them to the wall and to their desks as she closes in on Lila.

“Marinette?” The akuma stops and Adrien glances at Alya, who had spoken. She looks horrified.

“I’m sorry, Marinette can’t come to the phone right now,” the akuma sing-songs, “how can the Seamstress help you today?” She grins, pins held between her fingers. Lila bolts for the door while Seamstress is distracted. Seamstress growls in frustration, moving to chase after her. Alya sprints for the door, throwing her shoulder against it before Seamstress can leave.

“We have to keep her trapped until Ladybug can get here!” Alya yells. Adrien nods and lunges for the window to close it.

“Get out of my way!” Seamstress yells, pulling one of the very large needles out of her hair. She starts twirling it by the ribbon, much in the same way that Ladybug might use her yo-yo. The point of the needle glints dangerously but Alya swallows hard and stands her ground.

“Marinette, come on girl, snap out of it,” she tries. Seamstress ignores her. She stops spinning the needle, tossing it up and gripping it like a spear. She throws. Her aim is true, but Adrien runs and dives at Alya, knocking her to the ground. Her phone is not so lucky. It flies out of her hand and is pierced through. The needle impales it and the wall behind. Seamstress smirks, pulling on the ribbon threaded through the needle’s eye and tugging it back to her. She slides it back into her hair and pulls the door open, stepping out into the hallway.

“Oh Lila~” she sing-songs, “come out, come out little liar. I need  _ bait _ .”

Alya and Adrien stay frozen on the floor a full minute after Seamstress leaves the room.

“Damn,” Alya finally breaks the silence, glancing around at the classmates who had been unlucky enough to get pinned. “Akuma Marinette is  _ terrifying _ .”

 

~*~

 

Master Fu is enjoying a quiet afternoon, sharing a plate of biscuits and a pot of tea with Wayzz. It’s been a fairly quiet week in Paris, and he knows that means it’s only a matter of time before something happens. He’s sad to learn just how right he is when he turns on the radio to find his favorite station has been interrupted by an emergency akuma alert. He turns on the news and Wayzz lets out a small gasp at the sight of the latest akuma, holding a hostage at the lycée he knows Chat Noir and Ladybug to be attending.

“Well,” Fu sighs, “it would appear that Chat Noir will be in need of some assistance.”

 

~*~

 

Seamstress can be patient. It takes time to create perfection, after all, and that’s what she’s best at. She stands in the courtyard of the school, keeping an eye on every possible point of entry. She has Lila, secured with pins and ribbon, hanging from the second-floor banister. The ribbon is pulled tight by the needle she had secured in the courtyard floor. Her bait is set; the only thing to do now is wait for her prey. She doesn’t have to wait long.

“Well I’ll be darned,” a familiar voice calls out, “you stitched all this together for little old me?”

Seamstress doesn’t answer; she whirls around, pulling a second needle from her hair as she goes, and throwing it at Chat Noir. He barely manages to duck, the needle flying over his head.

“I...think you’ve made your point,” Chat states. He extends his staff until it’s tall enough for him to leap to the roof. Seamstress follows, throwing the needle to the roof and slingshot-ing herself up to chase after the hero. Lila glances around in a panic.

“Is anybody going to get me down?!”

 

~*~

 

Seamstress is  _ fast,  _ Chat soon discovers. Fast and ruthless. She catches up to him easily and it’s all he can do to dodge the black pins she continuously throws his way. He barely has a chance to send a message out to Ladybug to request her presence, dodging the needle Seamstress throws his way, only to trip over the ribbon attached to it. She attempts to pin him down, but misses, grazing one of his cheeks with a pin as he tucks into a roll and springs back up to his feet.

He glances over his shoulder as he runs, trying to suss out what her item could be. The only thing that sticks out to him, that doesn’t mesh with the outfit she’s wearing, is the forest green ascot knotted around her neck. But he can’t destroy the item without Ladybug around to cleanse the akuma and she’s still nowhere to be found. Chat grits his teeth. He has to do  _ something,  _ he tells himself as another shower of straight pins is thrown his way, a few of them hitting their mark and drawing blood. Marinette’s a friend - he and just  _ leave her _ this way, in pain and hurting. He skids to a stop, whirling around to face Seamstress. She comes to a stop herself a few feet from him, twirling a needle by its ribbon.

“Well, it would  _ seam _ we’ve come to a standoff,” he grins at her. Seamstress snarls, the outline of a butterfly briefly appearing over her face. She takes one menacing step towards him and a moment later they’re running at each other. Chat stretches out one hand, reaching for the ascot to tear it from her neck, but Seamstress jerks away at the last second. She reaches into the pouch on her hip and pulls out the largest pair of fabric scissors Chat has ever seen. She uses them to pin his hand to the concrete, effectively trapping him while she sits on his chest and attempts to use her Akumatized strength to pry his hand open and slide his ring off of his finger.

“Your precious Ladybug isn’t coming!” She snarls. “Give up!” Chat hisses, swiping at her with his free hand. She cocks back one fist and lands a punch to the pressure point in his forearm with all of her strength. He yowls in pain and his hand springs open. Seamstress is reaching for the ring, about to pull it from his finger when she stops and lunges forward, narrowly missing the kick Rena Rouge had aimed at her back.

“You looked like you could use a hand,” Rena smirks, eyes not leaving the akuma as she reaches down to grab the shears by the handle and tug.

“Rena,” Chat breathes a sigh of relief, rubbing his arm and sitting up. “Does that mean Ladybug-?”

“Haven’t seen her. Looks like it’s just you and me, Chat.” Chat frowns at her words but retrieves his baton.

“The akuma’s in the fabric tied around her neck,” he says, “but I can’t get close enough to grab it. If we could get her to stay still for long enough I could just cataclysm it, but that still leaves the problem of the akuma.”

“Guess it’s lucky my Kwami came prepared, then.” Rena holds up a small jar. Chat nods, an uneasy knot tightening in the pit of his stomach.

 

~*~

 

It’s their longest fight yet. Seamstress seems prepared for whatever they throw her way, and it takes them nearly two hours before they have an opening for Chat to grab her ascot and tear it to shreds with his claws. The akuma materializes from the shreds and Rena lunges, trapping it in the jar and slapping some kind of a seal over the lid.

Seamstress stops, almost frozen in time, and then a wave of black bubbles engulfs her, leaving a bruised and exhausted Marinette in her place. Her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses forwards and Chat barely manages to grab her before she hits the ground. He lowers himself into a sitting position, Marinette cradled in his arms, and breathes a sigh of relief.

He and Rena look around. The school courtyard and a few classrooms are trashed and a good portion of the road and sidewalk look like in need of repaving.

“Really makes you appreciate the magic of the Ladybug Cure, doesn’t it?” Rena chuckles tiredly. Chat can only nod. Rena’s necklace beeps it’s third warning as his ring beeps its first.

“You should go. I’ll take her home.”

“What about my necklace?” she questions nervously “Usually I give it back to Ladybug.”

“I think this time it’s yours for keeps.” Silence. Then

“And the akuma?” They both turn to stare at the jar containing the black butterfly.

“Talk to your Kwami. She gave you the jar, right?” Rena nods. “Then she must know what to do with it until Ladybug gets back from...whatever it is she’s doing.” Rena nods again, offering him a two-fingered salute before she grabs the jar and disappears. Chat heaves a tired sigh and lifts himself to his feet, hoisting Marinette with him and adjusting her into a more comfortable position for the trip to her house.

 

~*~

 

Marinette wakes up. One moment she’s asleep, and the next she’s awake, staring at her ceiling. She can feel Tikki wedged in her neck, hidden in her hair - which is down, for some reason. There’s a heavy weight on her feet and her left cheek  _ itches _ . She raises a hand to scratch at it and feels soft gauze beneath her fingers. She sits straight up, dislodging Tikki. And then everything hurts. Her muscles  _ ache _ in a way that they haven’t since before she quit gymnastics. She glances down at her lap and sees a bandage wrapped around one wrist. And that’s when she realizes exactly what the weight is on her feet.

Chat Noir is curled up asleep at the foot of her bed. Marinette blanches. She stares at him a moment, blinking.

“He was really worried about you,” Tikki explains with a yawn.

“Worried about me? Why?” She turns back to Chat and pokes him with one toe beneath her blanket. “Hey. Chat.” He grumbles and swats at her. She leans over and shoves at his shoulder. “If you don’t give me a perfectly good reason as to why you’re in my bed, you’ll find yourself nine lives shorter,” she announces loudly. Chat Noir jerks upright.

“Huh? Wha-? I’m awake I swear!” He glances around and his eyes finally focus on Marinette. “You’re awake! It’s so wonderful to see those beautiful eyes of -”

“What the hell happened to your face?!” Chat grins sheepishly and rubs the back of his head with one hand. His face is littered with bruises and small cuts. “Who did this? Was it an akuma? Why didn’t you call Ladybug?”

“Um,” he bites his lip, unsure of what to say, and that’s when Marinette starts to remember. She glances over the side of her bed to her floor, where the pile of torn up sketches and fabric swatches remains.

“I...was akumatized, wasn’t I?” she asks numbly. Chat just nods.

“You called yourself the ‘Seamstress’ and you were actually pretty difficult to take down. It was really strange. You seemed to be able to predict every move Rena and I tried to pull."

“Rena?”

“Yea. We finally managed to trick you and captured your akuma. Ladybug just… she didn’t show up, so we trapped it, but no Ladybug, no Miraculous Cure.”

“Hence all of the pain I’m in and the current state of your face.”

“Yea.”

Marinette swallows.

“It was...it was really difficult to fight you. You’re probably my closest friend, y’know?” Marinette glances up at him, surprised at his words.

“Anyway, I brought you home. Your parents are really nice, by the way. Let me hang around in the bathroom while I recharged.”

“You didn’t have to stick around you know,” Marinette says softly.

“Yea I did,” he answers almost shyly. “I had to make sure you were okay. I was pretty exhausted though, so I guess I fell asleep. How are you feeling?” Marinette smiles softly and leans forward, reaching out to place one hand on his face and pull him a bit closer so she can give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“I’m feeling much better now. You’re a wonderful friend. Thank you,  _ chaton _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know if the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale actually has any kind of a summer program or w/e, but for the purposes of this we’re gonna pretend that they do.
> 
> Find me on tumblr @DawnieWrites


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